Results 12,701-12,720 of 27,019 for speaker:Michael Noonan

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: An individual involved in the letting of property may be considered, in the broadest sense, to be engaged in a business or enterprise and, as such, be considered a business person. However, it appears to me that the thrust of the Deputy's question is more to do with  whether an individual in receipt of rental income can be considered to be engaged in a trading activity. In that regard,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Financial Services Ombudsman Issues (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: Firstly, I must confirm to the Deputy that it is not appropriate for me to comment on or become involved in an individual borrower's dispute with a financial service provider. On the issue more generally, if a customer has made a formal complaint to the financial service provider in question and is not satisfied with the outcome, then the matter should be referred...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Property Taxation Yield (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: Under the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, as amended, commencing in 2014 an amount equivalent to the Local Property Tax (LPT), including any interest paid thereon, shall be paid from the Central Fund into the Local Government Fund. My colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, has responsibility for the allocation of funding to local authorities. Local...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: EU-IMF Programme of Support (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: Our EU-IMF programme of assistance provided €67.5 billion in loans from the external lenders, of which the IMF provided €22.5 billion. The IMF established a resident office here in autumn 2011, as a consequence of Ireland being in receipt of IMF assistance. The resident representative is a normal feature of IMF support programmes, particularly in the case...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fiscal Policy (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council's mandate is: - To endorse, as it considers appropriate, the macroeconomic forecasts prepared by the Department of Finance on which the Budget and Stability Programme Update are based. -To assess the official forecasts produced by the Department of Finance. These are the macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts published by the Department twice a year - in...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Ministerial Meetings (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: I have not met with the Fiscal Council recently. However, as the Deputy will be aware, officials from my Department are in regular contact with the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council in relation to various matters, and the Council also have regular interaction with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform. Details of the Council s internal meetings, along with...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Economic Policy (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: The overriding objective of the Medium-Term Economic Strategy (MTES) is to provide the framework for sustainable public finances over the period to 2020, the achievement of which is a pre-requisite for growth and stability in the future. The rationale for such a framework stems from the need to ensure discipline and maintain market confidence in the post-Programme environment. The...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 226 and 227 together. The fair resolution of the mortgage arrears problem is key priority for Government and a comprehensive strategy, in line with the main recommendations of the 2011 Keane Report, has been developed.  The implementation of this strategy is overseen at Government level by a special sub-committee which is chaired by the Taoiseach and at...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Eurozone Crisis (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: I understand you are referring to the comments made by the former President of the ECB Mr. Jean-Claude Trichet at his hearing at the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Tuesday 14 January. During his appearance before the Committee Mr. Trichet raised a number of points including the cause of the European crisis, the Stability and Growth Path, the future role of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Agreements (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: The most prominent issue in international tax at the moment is the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project or BEPS, to which I believe the Deputy is referring. Ireland has welcomed both the OECD BEPS report of February 2013 which identified the problems of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, and the subsequent BEPS Action Plan published in July 2013, which outlined 15 actions to be taken...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Fiscal Policy (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council was established in 2011, and became a statutory body when the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2012 came into force on the 31st December 2012. The Act also sets out the Council's functions, which can only be amended through primary legislation. In that context, Regulation (EU) 473/2013 introduced a requirement that draft budgets and the stability programme update...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector Issues (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: As the Deputy will be aware  the Central Bank  undertook the Balance Sheet Assessment (BSA) of covered banks in 2013 in accordance with a framework and requirements agreed with the Troika as part of the exit of the Programme. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was contracted as independent assessors and to provide project management resources. E&Y was contracted to conduct the loan...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: It is not clear on which grounds the Deputy considers the change from the One-Parent Family Credit to the Single Person Child Carer Credit to be discriminatory. The Commission on Taxation acknowledged that the One-Parent Family Tax Credit played a role in supporting and incentivising the labour market participation of single and widowed parents - indeed this was why the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: IBRC Loans (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Special Liquidators are in the process of selling the assets of IBRC in an open and transparent process for prices at or above their independent valuation price and failing that, the Special Liquidators will sell the assets to NAMA at their independent valuation price. I am advised by the Special Liquidators that they will not be publishing the...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector Issues (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: The Deputy may be aware that, following the review by the UK Treasury in Autumn 2013, RBS reaffirmed its commitment to the Irish market.  RBS is currently reviewing the operations of Ulster Bank in Ireland with a view to creating a sustainable business model.  My Department has engaged with the UK Treasury on this matter.  I also recently met with RBS executives on...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Banking Sector Staff Issues (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: In the past five years seven banks have ceased operating in Ireland or have been merged into another institution (Anglo Irish Bank, Irish National Building Society, ACC, Bank of Ireland Scotland, Postbank, EBS and First Active). My Department has the following data available in relation to the reduction in staff numbers at Irish banks in the last three years: - Full Time...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: State Bodies Issues (18 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: In response to the Deputy's question, I have been informed that neither my Department or any body under the aegis of my  Department subscribes to the service provided by the Company in question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming Economic and Financial Affairs Council: Minister for Finance (13 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: We have set out our tax policy for the corporate sector. The IDA is a very successful organisation. The low tax rate of 12.5% is obviously part of the attraction of setting up a business in Ireland, but there are other attractions, such as the availability of educated people who are flexible in the workforce and have a very strong work ethic. There are many other factors also. On the last...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming Economic and Financial Affairs Council: Minister for Finance (13 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: What the Deputy is saying is incorrect. There are allowances and reliefs for companies, but if the Deputy wishes to go through them in a systematic way, the committee should invite a couple of the tax practitioners who deal with this to appear before it. I am sure they will give the Deputy satisfactory explanations for the reliefs and write-downs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming Economic and Financial Affairs Council: Minister for Finance (13 Feb 2014)

Michael Noonan: That is a false comparison. Corporations are different from individuals and income tax is different from corporate tax. They are different regimes. One does not get a valid comparison when one does it that way. One must look at the write-downs and make a case for whether they are justifiable. If they are not justified, the Deputy is correct, but if they are justified with normal...